do i need qualifications to access lift Hire equipment?

[David Lowery]

Have used one and have no qualifications but was shown how to operate safely by the company I rented it from.

One little tip: If you are leaving it on site for company you hired from to collect, when you phone them to let them know you are ready for it to be collected, say this:

I have now finished with the platform and want it collecting.

Then add: IT IS NOW OFF HIRE!

This then puts the ball in their court should it disappear before they collect.

Dave

[Lee Ballard]

You never used to need a certificate but things do change and I have not used one for 6-7 years. Also from memory when I worked in plant hire, you are still responsible for the insurance cover for 24-48 hours after you notify them of de-hire though this will be in the company small print.

Though always take the key with you, their driver will have his own and you can drop the key in yourself or post it back, stops the oicks doing too much if it’s in a public place.

[Steve Morgan]

Try looking in access equipment section of your Yellow Pages, I think you’ll find someone there, also I think that HSS hire out access equipment and do deliver to site.
I hired a small unit mounted on the back of a transit size chassis and didn’t need any qualification but you probably will if you are on a public thoroughfare or building site. The hirer should be able to tell you.
The self drive vehicle mounted units are very good but there’s nowhere to carry anything so you’ll need someone to get your tools and sign paraphernalia to site.

Steve

[Paul Humble]

It depends on the site you are working on. In my time with Shell we would insist that any operator had some sort of formal training before being allowed to use lift platforms or Cherry Pickers.

Its worth bearing in mind that alot of companies insist on seeing the Certs for the machine too, so make sure the hire company include a copy for your records to save time.

[Peter Normington]

John where is the location you are fitting at?
I use http://www.smartplatforms.co.uk/ near St Albans
best prices I have found, and they will cover you on insurance whereas many will only allow you to hire if you have insurance of your own

Peter

[John Harding]

Hi Peter

Thanks for the post and the pm, I found this sight after a google and st albans seems to be the only depot in the south and so I will probably use them if the client goes ahead.

Cheers – John

[Kevin Flowers]

Hi
got a Smart platform at the moment, had to produce my liability insurance to get rental. Also the site i’m working on insisted that i have IPAF & Loler certs for the machine.

Kev

[John Harding]

Ok thick time

quote :

Also the site i’m working on insisted that i have IPAF & Loler certs for the machine.

I know about Ipaf but whats a loler cert?

[Chris Dowd]

LOLER is the test / inspection on the equipment John.

With regard to IPAF, there are different categories, it’s not a "one license does all" product!

[Kevin Flowers]

info on different categories, doesn’t cost a fortune to do i did "1b, 3b & 3a" cost was around £350 took a day & a half.

http://www.ipaf.org/fileadmin/user_uplo … atpost.pdf

in theory no hire company should hire equipment without a valid Loler but it is the operators responsibility to check it is valid.

Kev

[John Childs]

We’ve got a job requiring a monster cherry picker, which the customer is going to rent. That’s because minimum hire is three days and they can use it for other purposes when we have finished.

When we last worked on their site, four months ago, they wanted to inspect the operators paperwork before they would let them start work.

No certificate = go home.

[Andy Gorman]

It’s so inconsistent isn’t it? I’ve been told by some rental companies that they need to see proof of liability insurance, but others just drop the cherry picker off after giving 5 minutes of instructions.

[John Childs]

quote Andy Gorman:

It’s so inconsistent isn’t it? I’ve been told by some rental companies that they need to see proof of liability insurance, but others just drop the cherry picker off after giving 5 minutes of instructions.

It’s two different things Andy.

You’re talking about what the hire company wants to cover their asses.

My comment was concerning what the customer wants to comply with H&S on their site.

[Andy Gorman]

Same thing applies though. I’ve had to have a trained operator supplied by the rental company before, whereas another site manager on another site won’t bat an eyelid at me operating the thing.